Socket for vacuum tubes



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April 13, 1 26.

Ml. ALDEN SOCKET FOR VACUUM TUBES Filed Feb. 27, 1923 ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 13, 1926.

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HILTON ALDEN, OI SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO WAC- TUBING 00., O1 srnmermn, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF HASSAGHU- .SZETTB.

SOCKET FOB VACU'UI TUBES.

Application fled February 27, 1888. Serial Io. 881,575.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON ALDEN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Springfield, county of Hampden,

a Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Sockets for Vacuum Tubes, which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to im rovements in sockets for receiving and firm y retaining a vacuum tube in place therein so that there will always be a good electrical contact between the terminals on the socket and the I prongs on the vacuum tube.

An object of the invention is to rovide a vacuum tube receiving socket w ich will prevent the tube from being wrongly inserted thus overcoming the possibility of wrong connections being made with either the filament, grid, or plate of thetube. If a wrong electrical connection should happen, to be made with thefilament and battery of too high a voltage the filament would be burned out.

A further object is to provide a vacuum tube receiving socket having terminals thereon which will form a good electrical contact with all of the terminals or prongs of the tube regardless of whether or not they are all 30 of the same length.

A further object is to provide a. socket in which the contacts therein will provide a good electrical contact and sufiicient friction to retain the tube in the socket. I

These and other objects of the invention will appear in the body of the specification and will be particularly pointed out in the claims. v

Referring-to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the socket showing the interiorly located openings in which the prongs of the tube are inserted or placed, also the usual terminals or binding posts.

Fig. 2 isa detail view of one of the con tact terminals detached from the socket, and with which the terminals on the vacuum tube contact.

Fig. 3 is a partial view of the lower por- 50 tion of a vacuum tube showing three of the four usual prongs or terminals.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 showing the spring fingers or 0011- 'tube and socket.

the contact strip may be secured to the socket tact terminals below the lower or bottom part of the socket and, two of the openings through which the terminals on the tube pass when inserted.

Fi 5 is an enlarged detail partial section view of a portion of the aswnbled Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the socket showing the openings in its bottom portion and the contact strips thereon, and,

Fig. 7 is a modification.

Referring to the drawings in detail:

1 designates the socket as a whole having the barrel part 2, base part 3 and bottom or partition part 4. 5 designates a ledge or annular part on which are placed the four binding posts 6, and 6' the two perforated bosses or lugs for attaching the socket to a support. It is obvious that ledge 5 and base 3 together form a supporting portion for the bottom portion 4. 7, 8, 9, and 10 designate the four usual openings for receiving the four prongs or terminals of a vacuum tube, three of which are shown in Fig. 3 at 11, 12, and 13 on the base or lower part 14 of a vacuum tube. The larger terminal 12 is designed to pass through the larger open- 8 ing 9 of the socket. The terminal 12 and opening 9 are made larger than the other terminals and openings in order that there may be no possibility ofthe vacuum tube being wrongly inserted and wrong electrical connections made with the binding posts 6.

Located on the under or bottom surface of the socket and attached to the binding posts 6 are the four angular shaped contact strips 15, 16, 17, and 18 preferably of phosphor bronze, two of which are shown in sectional detail in 4 and 5 and one in perspective view in Fig. 2.. It will be seen from the aforementioned figures that the contact strips may be bent intermediate their ends to provide a flat surface at one end for engaging the socket which fiat surface is provided with an opening by means of which and from which point it is capable of bending. At the other end of each contact strip is provided a long or broad flat surface for frictionally engaging the prong of a vacuum tube. These strips are normally in the path of the contact prongs or terminals 11, 12, 13, etc., on the lower end of the vacuumtube and extend laterally and partially across the axis of the openings 7, 8, 9 and 10 as shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 When the tube is inserted in the socket the prongs 11, 12, 13, etc. thereon will en age the ends of the contact strips with su cient friction to retain the tube firmly in place without the employment of any additional or supplemental means. These strips, being formed of durable elastic or springy material will assume the dotted line position shown and being bent out of theirnormal or full line position will serve to frictionally retain the vacuum tube in place in the socket. These strips also serve to make electrical contact with the prongs 11, 12, 13, etc. even if the prongs are of different lengths.

Heretofore it has been a common practice to retain the vacuum tubes in place by employing a bayonet oint structure on the tube and socket. The prongs 11, 12, and 13, it

. will be seen have a wiping and frictional contact with the strips11 5, 16, 17, and 18.

It will be seen from this description that I have provided a very efficient means for retaining a vacuum tube in its socket and also for forming a good electrical contact between the contact prongs on the tube and the spring contact devices on the plug.

Referring to the construction shown in Fig. 7 in which the upwardly extending part 2 is omitted and the vacuum tube 14 is placed directly on the part 4, as shown, the four prongs 11, 12 and 13 of the tube are passed through the four openin 7, 8, 9 and 10, and frictionally engage t e four upwardly extending elastic contact strips 19 and 20,

only two of which are shown. It is to be understood that in this vacuum tube receiving structure there are four contact strips with which the four prongs engage. These strips ,are curved and extend upwardly instead of downwardly and have a substantially long flat contact surface 21 with which the prongs have a wiping and frictional contact which forms not only a good electrical contact for the prongs but also serves to frictionally retain the vacuum tube in place. These strips, with their long contact surfaces also serve to form a wiping contact with all of the prongs of the tube even if they are of different lengths off 'cen-. ter or irregularly spaced or of varying diameters.

What I claim is:

1. A vacuum .tube socket comprising a base portion, a barrel portion for receiving the vacuum tube, a bottom in the barrel portion provided with openings through which the prongs of the tube pass, a ledge portionconnecting the barrel and base portions, binding posts upon the exterior of the ledge portion, and contact strips secured on the,

contact for the prongs and for frictionally engaging the same to retain the tube in the socket yet permitting it to be withdrawn.

2. A vacuum tube socket comprising a base portion, a barrel portion for receiving the vacuum tube, a bottom in the barrel ortion provided with openings through w 'ch the prongs ofthe tube are inserted, a ledge portion connecting the barrel and the base portions and contact strips secured to the base portion, said contact stripsbeing bent intermediate their ends to provide a fiat surface for engaging the underside of the ledge portion and another flat surface to provide a broad flat contact engaging member designed to have a wiping contact with the prongs of the vacuum tube and a wide frictional engaging surface for retaining the tube in the socket, said'strips having freely 3. A vacuum tube socket comprising a base portion, abarrel portion for receiving the vacuum tube, a bottom in the barrel portion provided with openings through which the prongs of the tube pass, a ledge portion connecting the barrel and base portions, binding posts upon the exterior of the ledge portion, and contact strips secured on the under side of the ledge portion and located in the path of the inserted prongs of the vacuum tube, said contact strips being bent to provide a bearing surface and being positioned-and arranged to provide a wiping contact for the prongs and for frictionally engaging the same to retain the tube in the socket yet permitting it to be withdrawn.

4. A vacuum tube socket comprising a bottom portion formed with openings through V which the prongs of a vacuum tube extend, a supporting portion including a ledge portion, and flat spring conducting strips secured to the ledge portion and positioned to normally project at an angle beneath the openings in the bottom portion and in the paths of movement of the inserted prongs of thevacuum tube, eachcontact strip beingbent to provide a bearing contact surface and being so positioned and arranged to provide a wipingcontact for the prongs and for frictionally engaging the same to retain the tube on the bottom portion yet permitting it to be withdrawn.

5. A vacuum tube socket comprising a. bottom portion formed with openings through .which the prongs of a vacuum tube extend, a supporting portion for the bottom portion, flat resilient contact strips extending from the supporting portion, and means for securing the contact strips to the supporting portion, said strips being bent intermediate their ends with their free ends disposed beneath the openings in the bottom portion and pro ecting normally at an angle into the paths of movement of the prongs of the tube, the 5 strips being bendable throughout their lengths from their free ends to their securing means, the free ends of the contact strips contact surfaces and positioned and arranged to provide a.

wip' tional on the contact for the prongs and for iric- 1'0 {Oengaging the same to retain the tube ttom portion yet permitting it to be withdrawn.

MILTON ALDEN. 

